Time Bomb: Difference between revisions

The [['''Time Bomb]]''' is one of the tropes popular in all forms of film and TV writing, as it adds a sense of urgency to the story -- whateverstory—whatever the characters must do, they must do it [[Race Against the Clock|within the time limit]] or the [[Incredibly Obvious Bomb|bomb]] will go off (the hostage will be killed, the poison will be released...).

Often there's the illusion of [[Real Time]] when we see the timer, but if you count the seconds and watch the clock, a 30 second countdown can often stretch as long as two minutes. Or it may ramp up and tick off far more time than has passed. (See [[Magic Countdown]].)

This trope is actually in contrast to real-life bombs which are camoflagued and seldom, if ever, include a visible timer. Television bombs must include a countdown to add tension, and often include blinking lights to let the audience, and the heroes, know that it is a bomb they are looking at.

{{examples|suf=s}}

* Constantly in ''[[Spiral]]''. Almost every other episode seems to be about some kind of time bomb.

* In one episode of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' one of the [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]s has taken the form of a microscopic parasite that infects the organic components of the [[Elaborate Underground Base]] and spreads into the main computer to trigger the [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]]. Ritsuko climbs inside the computer core to make modifications that would prevent this, but is soon running out of time. With only 10 seconds left, Misato say that they've lost, to which Ritsuko replies that that's even one second more than she needs.

* The ''[[Star Trek]]'' films have used this. ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|The Wrath of Khan]]'' (the Genesis device activating), ''[[Star Trek III: The Search For Spock|The Search for Spock]]'' (the Enterprise [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]]) and ''[[Star Trek: Nemesis|Nemesis]]'' (the Scimitar activating its primary weapon) all feature variants of this trope. This extends to the television series as well.

** In ''[[Diamonds Are Forever]]'' Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd used timed bombs (without visual counters) twice - first to destroy the diamond-smuggling helicopter, and at the end in an attempt to kill Bond and Tiffany Case.

* 1986 movie ''[[The Manhattan Project]]''. The radiation from the home-made nuclear weapon causes its own electronic timer to count down with increasing speed. It is finally stopped, reading 7:16:45, which refers to the date, July 16th16, 1945, of the first atomic bomb test detonation.

* In the ''[[Saw]]'' franchise almost every trap has the classic timer attached. Subverted in that the the victim is usually about 3 seconds ''away'' from defusing it when it goes off. Justified in the sense that the series would have very little following if people actually got out and the devices never went off while being close increases tension and their attempts to get out typically provides the torture portion of the "torture porn".

* A throwaway bit in [[Robert A. Heinlein|Heinlein's]] ''[[Starship Troopers (novel)|Starship Troopers]]'' involves a ''talking'' time bomb. Rico jumps into a building full of Skinnies, throws something at them, and jumps back out. It begins yelling at them in their language: "I'm a thirty second bomb! I'm a thirty second bomb! Twenty-nine... twenty-eight..." The explosion is not described.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* In ''[[24]]'', the [[Time Bomb]] actually went off and did some fairly major damage to CTU.

* In an early episode of ''[[Sledge Hammer!]]'', Sledge has to find and disarm a time bomb hidden in a clock store.

* Leoben claims to have planted one in the first season of ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined(2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', {{spoiler|but he's a perpetual liar who loves to Mind Frak people.}}

* ''[[Danger UXB]]'', being about a [[Bomb Disposal]] unit during [[World War Two]], is a more realistic portrayal of this trope. The Germans keep dropping bombs with timed detonators because they know they'll cause more disruption and panic. Naturally no-one knows when the bomb will go off. An exception is in "Seventeen Seconds to Glory" when a naval mine is being defused. Once the timer starts they explode in seventeen seconds regardless. The naval officer drops the tiny device used to deactivate the timer -- andtimer—and at that point the timer starts whirring. While the man with him runs like hell, the officer scrabbles desperately in the rubble for the device. He's able to find it at the last moment.

* ''[[Trauma Center]]: Under the Knife'' has you disarming one.

* Semi-lampshaded in the ''[[Justice League]]'' episode "Wild Cards", where the Joker plants ''twenty-five'' time bombs all over Las Vegas, challenges the league to find them, sends the Royal Flush Gang to stop them, and sets the entire thing up as a reality show, complete with actual timer on the screen.

*** The Joker manually detonates one and nearly kills Green Lantern.

* Multiple times on [[Totally Spies!]]. Including one time when the [[Big Red Button]] to stop the bomb was easily accessible, but Clover, Sam, and Britney [[Time Stands Still|had their bodies slowed down to the point that they would never make it to the bomb in time.]] {{spoiler|They are saved by Alex.}}